Meeting the environmental challenges inherited from the Cold War and making informed and responsible nuclear weapons waste disposal decisions calls for our attention and commitment.When the Governors of Colorado, Idaho, Nevada, New Mexico, Ohio, South Carolina,Tennessee, and Washington met with U.S. Secretary of Energy Bill Richardson at the 1999 National Governors’ Association (NGA) winter meeting, they discussed developing goals objectives for a more coordinated national waste management policy.

During this discussion it became clear that a document that would allow the Governors to fully understand the configuration of the Department of Energy’s (DOE) facilities for treatment and, especially, disposal of nuclear waste would be an invaluable tool. Governors are interested in handling their fair share of the cleanup burden, but need clearly see the implications for the movement of waste into or out of a state—as well as the bigger picture of past and future benefits and burdens resulting from the nuclear weapons complex.

This report is designed to provide an overview of the nuclear weapons complex, the sites’ past and current missions, and, most importantly, their connection to each other.The report also highlights the states’ perspectives on some the critical issues faced by the DOE sites.To protect public health and the environment, Governors need objective information and analysis, and this report by NGA’s Center for Best Practices makes an important contribution.